Coffee In The Field

Ah, the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, arousing the senses as it floats on the early morning air. This is an experience most people really enjoy and look forward to to start their day. Something very unusual about Steve and I is that neither one of us is a coffee drinker. (Now there are probably other things unusual about us but that's for another blog.) One of us not being a coffee drinker, OK, but both, well as I said that is a bit unusual. However it works well for us on a cruise as we can get underway in the mornings pretty quickly and neither of us is grumpy without a caffeine fix to get the motor working so to speak.

However, as a backpacker and camper, I have camped with fanatical coffee drinkers. These are folks that won't budge an inch until they have that cup of Joe. And to tell the truth, it smells great brewing and I am sure it warms body and soul as the first rays of the sun peaks over the ridge line in the distance. Needless to say someone always has coffee on these camping trips.

So how do they do it? Especially where weight and convenience are important considerations. There are any number of ways to brew coffee while camping in the field. Some people bring along little percolator coffee pots and brew a cup or two. That can be messy. What my camping mates do is use the Folgers Coffee singles.

They are like tea bags. It's pretty darn easy. Just boil up a cup of water and put the bag in the cup. I understand the coffee isn't too bad either. And if it is campfire time, or relaxing at anchor watching the sunset, well a slug of Irish whiskey which some how made its way into the pack might be just the thing with that evening cup of coffee.

If a there are a lot of coffee drinkers, someone boils up a pot (like a cooking pot) full of water and then tosses in one of those coffee bags made for drip coffee makers. Some of the guys collect them from their hotel rooms and save them for camping trips. These are the ones that are free and brewed in your room. Take along the free sweetner, sugar, and dried creamers as well. They are light, easy to use and hold up well in the field.

So, on a sailing cruise, we could carry the coffee bags, boil up a cup of water, insert the bag and let the good times roll. (But alas, we don't drink coffee.) Clean up is a snap and that second cup is just as easy. Now cleaning up after bacon and eggs is another post.

Bruce

seize the day!

Going over the schedule at the office today I found out they had given me four days off next week (Tuesday through Friday) when I had only asked for three (Wed. through Friday). I pointed out the error and was told "you can take that extra day if you want." I took it!!! That will give me one more day for the weekend trip.

(Bruce keeps asking me why I call it a weekend walkabout. "You're sailing, not walking" he says. And now that I think about it, a Tuesday through Saturday trip really isn't a weekend trip. Oh well.)

I'll probably take the extra day to explore Big Porpoise Bay, Middle Bay and Jones Bay (above), all just south of Mouse Harbor. It looks like interesting territory and there are a couple of canals leading south from Jones Bay that I want to look at for possible use on the June trip with Bruce.

I've started organizing gear. The food is packed (I'll need to add another day's worth). And I made up the trail mix with mixed nuts, raisins, dried cranberries and wasabi peas. I don't know what to call the mix but I don't think I need to worry about urinary tract infections:).

I emailed with Wally VanHorn of VanHorn's Campground and Marina in Germantown, he says he's got a nice ramp and plenty of room for the jeep and trailer while I'm out. I need to buy my NC saltwater fishing license ($10 online I think) and add waypoints for Jones, Middle and Big Porpoise Bays.

Below is an unfortunate reminder to get that insurance premium check in the mail before the trip. Three boats destroyed by fire on Pretty Lake (the Little Creek area off of Chesapeake Bay) early this morning and a couple more boats damaged.

And below is a nice photo by Bruce of Spartina at the end of last's fall's cruise to St. Michaels. Can't wait to start the next cruise.

steve

Launching The USNS Amelia Earhart

I was going through some photos tonight and saw these photos and video clips of the launching of the USNS Amelia Earhart T-AKE 6. I was invited to the launching at the NASSCO ship yard here in San Diego. NASSCO is the last ship construction facility on the west coast. They have contracts with the Navy for building I think eleven of these T-AKE dry cargo ships. The ships are used to resupply the fleet while at sea and carry perishable and non-perishable food stores as well as a huge variety of supplies for the fleet. The refrigerated spaces are enormous caverns and state of the art.

I put together a short movie of the launching. The photos and video clips were taken by my neighbor Roger who attended as my guest. I shot one of the stills and included some photos of Amelia that were on the web. We were given the very special opportunity to go down to the bottom side of the ship and watch the launching up close and personal. The attached movie shows the final blocks and welds holding the ship on the launching carriage being removed. Then as the bottle of champagne is being broken on the bow by a member of Amelia Earhart's family (on the upper platform where all the speeches take place), another dignitary located on a platform down where we were detonates a small explosive charge and the final weld is blown and the ship slides down the ways. The last clip shows the San Diego bay water rush back up the ramp as the ship hits deeper water. There are tugs waiting to catch the ship and push it along side another pier where the rest of the outfitting and construction takes place. It was a very exciting event.



Here is A blurb about these multi-purpose ships.

Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ships - T-AKE

Description: The dry cargo/ammunition ships are operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command and provide multi-product combat logistics support to the Navy fleet. USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), the class lead ship, is a new Combat Logistics Force (CLF) underway replenishment vessel intended to replace the current capability of the Kilauea-class (T-AE 26) ammunition ships and Mars-class (T-AFS 1) combat stores ships. With the retirement of the Sacramento-class (AOE 1) fast combat support ships, the T-AKEs may also operate as battle group station ships when accompanied by a Henry J. Kaiser-class (T-AO 187) oiler. The T-AKE program calls for up to 14 ships and has a budget of more than $6 billion. The T-AKE acquisition program resides within the Navy's Program Executive Office, Ships - Support Ships Boats and Craft Program Office (PEO Ships/PMS325).

Features: As an auxiliary support ship, T-AKEs directly contribute to the ability of the Navy to maintain a forward presence. In its primary mission role, the T-AKE provides logistic lift to deliver cargo (ammunition, food, limited quantities of fuel, repair parts, ship store items, and expendable supplies and material) to U.S. and allied Navy ships at sea. , In its secondary mission, the T-AKE may operate in concert with a Henry J. Kaiser-Class (T-AO 187) oiler as a substitute station ship to provide direct logistics support to the ships within a Carrier Battle Group.

Once the ship is launched, the ways are immediately cleaned up to make ready for the next ship's construction to begin. A lot of the lower keel and hull sections have already been constructed and will be assembled starting almost the next day. The ships are built in modular like sections and then the sections are put together piece at a time. It is fascinating to see.

Bruce

packing chart and a couple of other things

I put together the packing chart for my weekend trip. It will be easy to pack Spartina for just one person. We've found that there is plenty of storage space on the Pathfinder for two people, I doubt that I'll use 25% of the possible storage just for myself. You can see what Spartina looks like packed for a solo sail here.

This isn't a detailed list of everything I'll have on board, a better list for that is the old Watertribe Required Equipment list. I have a hard copy of that but can no longer find the online pdf for it. But here is a detailed article about the gear for the Watertribe (and, from my point of view, almost any adventure on the water). The night before the trip I'll have both the chart below and my printout of the old Watertribe list in my hand as I sort through the gear.

I think the chart, while pretty rough, is easy enough to understand. Lots of room under the foredeck, both on the cockpit sole and in bungees under the deck, for the head, anchor, gas, boom tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and bivy. When both Bruce and I are cruising I'll put my clothes and hypothermia kit in one big 35 liter watertight duffel bag. By myself I'll split up the clothes and the hypo kit, using a 20 liter bag for each. (And my thanks to the Watertribe folks, again, for their hypothermia kit list).

You'll see I've got eight gallons of water on board, way to much for one person for three or four days. But then again I almost always have eight gallons on board. It is part of the ballast. During my first cruise I noticed I liked how the extra weight down low under the bunk flat helped stiffen up the boat. I've kept water there ever since.

I did receive a note from Steve H. up in Pa. reminding me to "remember the ancients" as I sail down on the Pamlico. I had mentioned that I often wonder about the history and traditions of the area as fishermen worked the Sound for decades. Steve suggested I think back to the days before the sailors came across the Atlantic and wonder what it was like for the Natives that made their living on the Sound. Good thought, Steve. Thanks.

Steve will be doing some sailing down there soon in his 19' Mariner. He'll put in at Engelhard - Big Trout Marina I assume - and sail to Roanoke Island and back. That should be fun, I've had that same trip on my list for a while.

And while I was looking over my bills from BoatUS I decided to check on my SPOT membership. My annual fee, about $150 with the tracking feature, is not due until mid-summer. But while looking at their website I noticed the option listed above for third-party assistance. I need to call them to get a better explanation. It appears that if I put out a "need assistance" signal it will got directly to BoatUS. Right now if I use that button a message goes to my brother and he'll contact BoatUS with my location and membership number. I'm not sure which is the best way to go. I'll give SPOT a call and check on the details.

I got my two books to read during the trip, Vicksburg 1863 by Winston Groom (most famous for his novel Forrest Gump) and Under Cover of Daylight by James W. Hall (that was a penny book from Amazon's used book store, plus $3.99 shipping). I, of course, am able to resist anything but temptation so the books sat on the side table for just two days before I was reading both of them. That's ok, there will be plenty left to read during the short trip. From the opening chapters I can tell you both are excellent books.

I had read Under Cover of Daylight when it was published in 1987, but it was so long ago I can barely remember the story. It deals with some locals trying to fight development on Key Largo, the fight being financed with some smuggling. I remember liking the book because it was very well written (Hall is a poet, so you know his words are chosen carefully), it captured the feelings of the keys and it was an area that will always have a special place in my heart.

In the first few pages of the book Hall mentions Caryfort Reef Lighthouse as a landmark. Just the name of the lighthouse brought memories of August 1978 flooding back to me (wow, was it really 32 years ago???). I spent that month working with scientists studying the coral reefs off of Key Largo. We lived on an old converted fishing trawler called The Sea Angel, using smaller boats to run out to particular reefs each day. A lot of the work was right in the vicinity of Carysfort Reef Lighthouse and in fact I got to spend a night or two sleeping in the old cedar (or was it lignum vitae) lined living quarters of the beacon. Long days on (really in) the water, sun burn and salt spray. Hard work, barracudas hovering in the shade beneath the workboat, lightning storms in the middle of the night. Working with some good people who gave me a chance. And trying to remember the location of a coral head in the days way before GPS. It was difficult enough to find the same reef, let along the same piece of coral.

I've had the good fortune to do some interesting things in my life but that month of working in the Keys will always stand out in my mind. This will be a great book for the trip -- I'll be remembering my time in the Keys while sailing on Pamlico Sound. Can't beat that.

And lastly I read this morning that Chuck from Duckworks (that's his Caprice above sailing on Texas waters) will be coming to North Carolina to take part in the OBX130. Chuck is a busy man. He runs an online marine supply store, an online sailing magazine, he has competed in the Everglades Challenge AND he is the founder of the Texas 200 sailing even (So Chuck, what do you do in your spare time?). I bought my Pathfinder plans from him (he represents designer John Welsford in the states) and then bought all kinds of stuff - from hardware to leather - from his shop as I was building Spartina. I've corresponded with him, but never met him. And I'm sorry to say I won't be able to see him at this year's OBX130 as I've got a scheduling conflict. But someday I do hope to meet and hopefully sail with him. Have a great sail Chuck.

steve

two weeks out

In two weeks I should be on Pamlico Sound. This little cool spell we are having right now reminds we we aren't completely in the summer weather pattern and I ought to bring a long sleeve shirt or two for layers. The bivy and 30 degree sleeping bag will be find for sleeping, but if a front rolls through mornings can be very chilly.

I made prints of my satellite images from google earth and laminated them at Kinko's. I've got gps waypoints marked on them plus all the names for coves, bays and narrows that I could find. When I sail by a spot I want to be able to know that it is Cunning Harbor Bay or Voliva Cove or Bernice Creek. Why? I don't really know. I guess the names make me wonder about the history and tradition of the area, the people who worked the water for a living and what life was like down there in the past.

Those sat photos will live in a two gallon zip loc bag tucked behind the blade of Spartina's oar until they are needed. Below is the bag with my chartbook, sat photos and top spot chart. I don't think I'll get lost.

Thinking about where the charts are kept on Spartina reminded me I need to redo the packing chart for this solo trip. Below you'll see a scan I did from Spartina's drawing on John Welsford's site. I've got a copy (that I've shown in the past) where I marked out all the areas for stowing the gear. That was for both Bruce and myself on board. I need to redo that chart with just my gear on board. I'll have less gear, less food and some extra space. So things will be arranged a little bit differently.

steve

caught on camera

My sailing partners from Sunday, Mike and Claire, sent me a photo and a quick video clip. Both were shot early in the day when I had a reef tucked in.

A few minutes later I shook out the reef and Mike tracked me with the tug and found I was doing 6.2 knots.

This is the first video I've uploaded, so let's see if it works.

Thanks Mike and Claire, I hope to see you guys on the water again soon.

steve

the bills are coming due

I launched Spartina in June of '06 so it was in April and May of that year that I was doing all the paperwork, handling registration and getting insurance. So this time every year I get some bills in the mail from BoatUS. BoatUS is of course the on water version of Triple A. Need some fuel? New a tow? Need help? They will take care of you. I wouldn't go on the water without it.

My plan includes the basic membership, unlimited on water towing and 100 miles of trailer towing for about $140. I have never used the on water towing, but twice I've used the trailer towing and each time the membership paid for itself. I got hung up on a ramp a few years ago and they sent a tow truck to help me out. I saw the bill sent to Boat US -- $180. Right there I came out 40 bucks ahead.

I also insure my boat through Boat US. Since it was a home built boat I had to provide some extra documentation. But after sending photographs and receipts for materials they agreed to insure the boat. I've got Spartina covered for all the materials, including sails and outboard, plus a couple of thousand dollars for labor. Hopefully I'll never use it but I'm glad to have it.

I was out for a sail today on a colder, windier day than expected. I saw a tug boat chasing me down and knew right away it was a Sam Devlin designed Godzilla tugboat. In fact that very boat had spent some time in my friend Jim's garage (Jim is building a Navigator) just a block from my house while under construction a few years ago. On board were Mike and his wife Claire. Mike had started building the boat and eventually sold it to a friend. But he still gets to use it now and then.

They were out on the river to see off the schooner Spirit of Independence (below) as she left on a trip to Bermuda. I often sail in company with the Spirit and we trade tacks (for as long as I can keep up) heading down the Elizabeth River. She left Portsmouth a little after noon. I'll look forward to seeing her back in town in a few weeks.

I took Mike and Claire on board for a short sail (Mike said they had been "shanghai'd) then anchored in Crawford Bay where they ran me around in the tug so I could get some photos of Spartina. Below you'll see her with Norfolk in the background.

And another view showing the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in the background. The hospital was built in 1823 and is still in use (the hospital facility is now in a new building but the administrative offices are in the original building).

As I said it was colder and windier than expected and I eventually put on my foul weather gear just to keep warm. There is my gear drying on the mast at home after a fun day on the water.

steve

packing the lunchbox

I packed most of my food for the weekend walkabout trip the other day. With just me on board and four days it was much simpler than usual. I had most of the food on hand already, borrowed from the supplies I've been buying for the June trip with Bruce (dont' worry Bruce, I'll replace it.) Below is a day's worth of food, you can see I won't be going hungry. Breakfast will be two granola bars and a cup of fruit. Lunch is the tuna salad with crackers and a cup of fruit. Dinner will be boiling bag rice or asian noodles, fresh fish (maybe) and a cup of fruit. If the fish aren't biting I'll have foil packs of fish or chicken for dinner. You also see a little GU Energy Gel there on the right. If it is a long, hot day those can help pick up the energy level a little bit.

What you don't see here are some individual bags of trail mix. I'll buy a premade bag of mix next week and add some of my favorite stuff - rainins, dried cranberries, dried strawberries and wasabi peas - to round it out.

I packed the food a little differently than usual. For a longer trip with two of us on board I'll put the food in six one-gallon jars that I got at the Dollar Store. Each jar will have basically one type of food in it. One jar will have the breakfast bars, one will have the rice and potatoes, one will have the fruit cups and so on. For this trip, just one person for four days, I put a day's worth of food in each jar (below).

(I'll also have two heater meals tucked away, so there is extra food should I get caught out there by the weather.)

The meals I'll be fixing will be a return to the menu from a few years ago, before Bruce joined the crew. My cooking level is pretty basic, I think I'll do fine with rice or noodles and some fish (fresh or otherwise) on the griddle. On our first cruise together in '07 Bruce said he enjoyed the sailing but needed to upgrade our food. And so he has. Read through the logs of our last couple of trips (off to the right on this page) and you'll find some very nice meals that he has made. When I think of Bruce cooking on our trips I get this recurring image of him using a razor blade to cuts paper thin slices from a clove of garlic. No, he hasn't done that (but I wouldn't put it past him). The meals on my solo trip will be much more basic.

The other dinner items that I'll pick up the night before the trip will be onions and peppers. They'll be stored in the little mesh hammock on the starboard side under the foredeck. No, I won't get wine or potatoes as shown in the photo below, just onions and peppers. Even I know how to cook with those.

steve

Butterflies Are In Fact Not Free (I had to buy a ticket)

I went out to the Wild Animal Park today. I know you are probably thinking isn't all of California a Wild Animal Park? The land of fruits and nuts? But this park is a part of the San Diego Zoo. I went out there to take some photos of butterflies. Every year for about three or four weeks they have a butterfly enclosure stocked with thousands of exotic butterflies. It is pretty neat. Kids really go bonkers with all the butterflies all over the place. They even land on you. So here are some of the shots I took. This is my first time ever taking butterfly pictures.









The nice thing about butterflies is they don't bite you and make you itch like some other flying things that shall go nameless.

I have no idea which butterfly is which. So for my next task I am going to find out who is who. I think I will go again next year as this was a lot of fun. The little kids were just amazed with everything. They didn't care if they chased all the butterflies away form the old guys taking pictures. As I told Steve, I guess that is why the zoo has the exhibit after all, for the kids.

Bruce

Can You Spot The Differences?

Cruising on a sailboat is just plain fun. And of course there are many different types of sailboat cruising opportunities, each providing its own amenities. Here are some pictures of two very similar sailboat cruises I have been on recently. Look carefully and see if you can spot the differences. One vessel is Spartina and the other is Royal Clipper.

Here are the two vessels under full sail. (The first photo was taken by Doug Frengle, a fellow cruiser, thanks Doug.) Can you spot Spartina? Don't decide too quickly now, take your time.


Here I am at the helm of both vessels. Can you tell which one was in warmer weather? Did you notice how much fun I'm having in both pictures?


Eating is a big part of any cruise. Did you notice any difference in the chefs? Which cruise caused me to gain five pounds? Can you tell who did the clean-up on each cruise?


Sleeping is also an important part of a successful cruise. As Steve says, "a good night's sleep makes the next day more fun." Can you tell which photo has no mosquitoes in the cabin?


Ah, Steve's favorite shot, the mooring light. Can you picture it swaying with the water's motion in each photo? Which one do you think cost the most to maintain? (This is a tough one I know.)


Navigation is very important on any cruise. Can you pick out the chart room on Spartina? Both vessels have back-up systems so choose carefully and don't be fooled by all the high-tech equipment.


Steve and I really love lying on the deck and shooting up through the sails towards the sky. Can you spot Spartina's rigging?


And of course no cruise is complete with out some sunset shots with the vessel or rigging included. Can you pick out Spartina?


How many differences did you find? If you didn't notice any, then you are a real sailing junkie and just love being on the water, no matter the vessel. Our kind of folks, right Steve?

Cruising on any sailboat is truly a wonderful experience. My voyages on Spartina are so unique and fun, there really is no comparison. The adventures Steve and I have encountered together are what make lifetime memories. Hey Steve, want to see the differences in bathroom facilities?

Bruce